Etterspørselsaggregering

Etterspørselsaggregering, or demand aggregation, is a concept in economics that refers to the process of combining individual demands for a particular good or service into a single market demand. This aggregation is a fundamental step in understanding how prices are determined and how markets function. When we move from considering the demand of a single consumer to the demand of all consumers in a market, we are performing an act of demand aggregation.

The aggregated demand curve for a market is typically derived by summing the quantities demanded by all individual consumers at each possible price level. This means that at any given price, the total quantity demanded in the market is the sum of the quantities that each individual is willing and able to buy at that price. Graphically, this is often represented by horizontally summing the individual demand curves.

Factors that influence individual demand, such as income, tastes and preferences, prices of related goods (substitutes and complements), and expectations about future prices and income, also collectively influence the aggregated demand. Changes in these underlying factors will shift the aggregated demand curve. For instance, if consumer income increases across the board, the aggregated demand for most normal goods will increase, shifting the curve to the right.

Understanding demand aggregation is crucial for businesses when making decisions about production levels, pricing strategies, and market entry. It also forms the basis for macroeconomic analysis, where aggregated demand represents the total demand for goods and services in an entire economy.